Features

Harley-Davidson Sportster Harley-Davidson’s Evolution Sportster has become a firm favourite among bikers looking for something a little bit different. Light, compact and torquey the Sportster series combines modern standards of reliability and performance with the traditional feel of a torquey four stroke twin. And it comes with the kudos of the HD tank badge at…

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Suzuki GS1000E Launched in 1978, the GS1000 looked as though it had been developed from the previous year’s GS750, which cynics suggested had been directly developed from the Kawasaki 900. Some of this may be true. Suzuki admitted that the legendary Z1 had been an inspiration in the creation of their first ever four strokes…

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Heart rules head. I get that now and being in my 40s I think it’s a bonus to admit it. This is why I bought a basket case RD350R off of our own Mark Haycock – so first the case for the defence. Being a decade younger than the likes of Niall Mackenzie, the original…

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Kawasaki W650 flat tracker Sean is the workshop manager at John Carr Motorcycles in Alfreton, Derbyshire – a job that helps when it comes to a project. Having access to the right tools and equipment means you’re never short of anything and, with an understanding boss, he was able to work on his bike during…

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MZ was a popular commuter for cash strapped motorcyclists It’s a common assumption that your enjoyment of motorcycling increases with the sophistication of your machines and the cash spent on them. But if ever there was proof that you only need a simple, low-cost and reliable machine to provide a passport to distant horizons and…

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Yamaha XJ1100 Maxim I was eyeing up my ride for the day and freely admit to feeling a little wary. Perched on a log, like an overgrown CE armoured pixie I’m thinking of an old schoolboy joke and with more than a touch of irony. What’s white and if it falls out of a tree…

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Ducati 900SS heads Ducati 250 Desmo single If anything can get the heart racing and the blood pounding it’s a big, lusty Italian motorcycle. And they don’t come much lustier than the Ducati 900SS, possibly the ultimate road version of Ducati’s legendary air-cooled L-twin of the 70s. When Nick told me he was rebuilding one…

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1974 Kawasaki Z1A Kawasaki's 903 Z1 is generally credited with inventing the superbike and introducing a new era of affordable, high performance, hi-tech bikes to usher in the heady days of the 70s. True, Honda’s original CB750 had gone before, heralding a sea-change in design and technology, but it was the 1972 Z1 which drew…

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Kawasaki W-series 650 twins In all honesty there are probably enough claims and counter claims behind the models in their various guises to keep a team of modern lawyers in work for a generation. Kawasaki assimilated Meguro around 1960 when the latter fell into financial difficulties. However, to muddy the waters Meguro had previously made…

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Yamaha’s YR3 represents the third and final iteration of the company’s first full-on 350cc sports machine. Back in 1966 it was very evident that Yamaha was rapidly catching a cold when it came to machines over 250cc. Overboring the vertically split engined YDS series was only ever going to be a stopgap measure but for…

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